


Even after time ( the stars will always still be there )

by trbjihoon



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: M/M, Minor Character Death, Mutual Pining, artist jihoon, slight meanie, whipped soonyoung!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-30
Updated: 2018-12-30
Packaged: 2019-09-30 07:41:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,352
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17219756
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trbjihoon/pseuds/trbjihoon
Summary: Seungcheol's project on human interaction:1. Ask Soonyoung questions about Jihoon2. Ask Jihoon questions about Soonyoung3. Watch Jihoon confess to Soonyoung4. 3.9 GPA!Alternatively: Soonyoung finds loves in flowers but he always chooses Jihoon over anything else.





	Even after time ( the stars will always still be there )

**Author's Note:**

> hello! so i've finally returned after my 6 months break due to my national examinations! this piece of work has been in my drafts since september... and i finally got myself to finish it and achieve my goal of having a 10k worded fic!! well congrats to me! ( even though i'm slightly late for xmas... ) hope everyone enjoys this immense word vomit that i've spent months on, constructive feedback is always appreciated!! slightly proofread.
> 
> au inspired by this [video!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-t6MopdFoE&feature=youtu.be)

“Come on Jihoon, it won’t hurt to try. Plus my GPA is solely dependent on this project and you’ll be a GREAT help to my failing Psychology grade,” Seungcheol’s obnoxiously waves the purple and green worksheet in Jihoon’s face ( though Jihoon is shuddering at the bad colour combination, he can’t bring it to break poor Seungcheol’s heart. Best friend benefits, you know? ).

 

Jihoon shrugs off the elder’s persuasions again, groaning as the pencil tip broke due to the added pressure, the sketch on the paper long forgotten as Jihoon blows the graphite off his drawing.

 

When he is done, Jihoon realises that Seungcheol is still standing there. Seungcheol definitely isn’t taking no for an answer and amidst all his furious tapping on his phone, Jihoon pokes the elder’s cheek and murmured,”I’ll do it.”

 

Once Jihoon finishes his sentence unwillingly, he sees a silhouette of his best friend leaping off the ground and into Jihoon’s arms. The scent of Seungcheol engulfs him as Jihoon wriggled his nose and pats his friend’s back awkwardly.

 

“Another thing I forgot to inform you about the project. Your partner is Soonyoung,” Seungcheol breaks off the contact to give a sheepish grin and Jihoon swears he is so close to throwing his sketchbook in Seungcheol’s face.

 

__   
  


_ 8 months ago. _

 

“Jihoonie!” Jihoon hurriedly tears away the paper in his book and stuffs it into his pocket. Patting down the obvious bump in his jeans, the male begins to start on a drawing of the sunflower pot on his desk.

 

The epitome of sunshine now enters the room, his arms full of clumps of flowers that Jihoon can’t recognise, except for the obvious roses peeking out from the other’s arms. The taller slowly lets the colourful mess onto his bed before turning around to award Jihoon with a stunning grin, nose scrunched up and Jihoon adores how the other is so, so, beautiful.

 

“I need some help with my new bouquet, mind giving me a hand?” The beautiful boy pipes up after Jihoon shifts his gaze back to his sunflower sketch stiffly. The lines are messy and not defined, but Jihoon will always choose Kwon Soonyoung over anything in the world.

 

“The colours have to be fitting for a ‘amusement park date’, so I picked out flowers representing first love, love yada yada. You get it, right?” Soonyoung blabbers, a stream of words leaving his mouth as soon as he feels Jihoon’s familiar weight sink down into the mattress. 

 

He stops moving the flowers on the bed to stare at Jihoon deep in thought. Soonyoung has always admired how the younger had such a flair for the arts since young and Jihoon is achieving his dream right now by pursuing his major in the arts. Soonyoung has never really been the guy who frets over his future, just randomly taking up opportunities that he’s chanced upon. He took up floriculture for fun and Soonyoung really enjoys how he can pick out distinct, meaningful flowers for Jihoon since the shorter can’t differentiate any of the plants.

 

“This and… this goes really well together,” Jihoon’s whisper snaps Soonyoung out of his thoughts, the elder looks at the  roses and calla lilies, tips of his fingers grazing past Jihoon’s as he receives the flowers to take in the welcoming scents.

 

Biting back a reddening blush, Soonyoung plays with the loose thorns that he had forgotten to remove, the room goes eerily quiet until Jihoon shoves another bunch of loose flowers and attempts to poorly arrange the colours in the right combination.

 

Soonyoung almost lets out a laugh as he guides Jihoon’s hands to slot the cascading plants to the side of the bouquet. The contact makes him ambitious, Jihoon doesn’t pull away and resumes to poke the remaining flowers on the bed.

 

“Thanks Jihoonie! I knew I could count on you!” Soonyoung chuckles, laying down the arrangement to look for his stash of wrapping paper. While Jihoon busies himself with his sketch again, Soonyoung scribbles ‘To:Jihoon’ on the paper with his scrawly handwriting, entire body hunched over the paper to obscure Jihoon’s vision.

 

Jihoon chances upon the bouquet under Soonyoung’s blanket when the taller was out for his dance practice and he feels himself deflate when he reads ‘To:J’, defeatedly replacing the bouquet back to its original position. ‘Junhui from dance or the Jeonghan senior from modelling?’

 

He invites Seungcheol over just to wail over his sad life over ice cream and chips, basically just to hear words of pity from his best friend about how Jihoon is just so whipped for Soonyoung and making him fall out of love with Soonyoung is like telling him to rip his eyes out.

 

Jihoon starts up his first painting in awhile, brush smoothly flying over the canvas, highlighting the homely sight of cheeks, nose scrunches and eyes. 

 

He almosts panics when he hears Soonyoung’s voice down the walkway as he stuffs his easel into the closet and locking it as soon as the other steps in. Jihoon prays that Soonyoung is too dense to notice the dirty apron tied on his waist and the tell-tale signs of dried paint on his fingers.

 

Jihoon doesn’t ignore the erratic beating of his heart when he feels Soonyoung’s arms snake around his waist when he lies in bed, wide awake from all the thoughts running in his head. Soonyoung shifts in closer, Jihoon feeling his body warmth as blood flows to his cheeks and he continues to stare at the wall without making a sound.

 

“What’s wrong, Jihoonie?” Soonyoung mumbles into Jihoon’s nape, voice laced with concern.

 

“Had a tiring day, don’t worry about me. How about you? Can’t sleep?” Jihoon replies hurriedly, resisting the urge to turn around to look into Soonyoung’s eyes and his pink lips.

 

“Yeah. The guy I like doesn’t like me back,” Soonyoung whispers and Jihoon almost feels his heart being ripped apart, forcing his eyes close.

 

__   
  


_ 5 months ago. _

 

Projects start to pour in as the semester reaches its climax. Jihoon spends hours in the art room to produce endless of artworks that he sometimes forgoes his dinner to complete his nth painting.

 

When he decides to lock up the room for the night, it is nearing 3am and Jihoon yawns while searching for the keys.

 

“You’re finally coming home?” A whisper comes from behind him, Jihoon turning around to gaze at Soonyoung. He has lost some weight and Soonyoung seems much thinner than before.

 

For the past weeks, Jihoon chose to spend the night at Seungcheol’s dormitory since he did not need to spend as much time for travelling as compared to staying at his shared abode with Soonyoung. Nights when Jihoon actually has a break from his workload, he finds Seungcheol to whine about Soonyoung.

 

“How’s your major assignments going? Don’t you have astrology to handle with too?” Ignoring Soonyoung’s question, Jihoon shuts the door and squeezes Soonyoung’s shoulder.

 

“It’s what I love to do. I can manage,” Soonyoung sends him a weak smile and Jihoon loves how he brightens up with the mention of having spicy rice cakes for supper.

 

“Jihoonie, I really need your help with my mess of bouquets, it’s getting really not colour coordinated that even Junhui notices it, please come home and save me, won’t you?” Pouting, the elder bites into more mouthfuls of rice cakes before complaining about the spice and downing another cup of water.

 

Jihoon fondly chuckles at the sight in front of him, taking a bite of Soonyoung’s food before exclaiming, “This is nothing!” Amidst the heat from the stall and the endless giggling from Jihoon, Soonyoung grabs the other’s hand tightly.

 

“Thank you, Jihoonie. I love you.”

 

Jihoon finds himself to be a very simple-minded person but he despises how Kwon Soonyoung could make him so indecisive and insecure.

 

“Seungcheol. If your best friend says ‘I love you’, is it platonic or is he in love with you?” Jihoon questions Seungcheol during lunch the next day. Between mouths of rice, Seungcheol unflatteringly spits out a few grains of rice as he gasps incredulously.

 

“Soonyoung said THAT?” He manages to say, after choking on his food, eyes locked on Jihoon who begins to poke on his vegetables and nodding hesitantly afterwards. As if it could not get any more awkward, a sweaty Soonyoung suddenly emerges from the cafeteria’s doors and Jihoon quickens his pace to finish his food before bolting off, the calls of ‘Jihoonie!’ taunting him.

 

Seungcheol groans at the sight that just unfolded in his eyes and he greets Soonyoung who invites himself to the table with a bowl of noodles. “Did you tell Jihoon you loved him?” Seungcheol interrogates the younger in a hushed whisper, the cafeteria already emptying out as people went off for their next lessons.

 

Both of them fortunately have the same lecture so Seungcheol takes his time to clear his food while Soonyoung confesses to the elder how he was just so endeared by Jihoon just giggling that he accidentally blurted it out.

 

“D-does he not like it? Should I stop?” The younger whimpers and Seungcheol fiercely pokes a finger on Soonyoung’s chest.

 

“If you stop, will your feelings stop?” Seungcheol raises a brow in victory when Soonyoung’s phone notified him of a message from ‘hoonie <333’.

 

Soonyoung messes up his second assignment as he chooses not to let Jihoon help him with his dumb flowers. His teacher reprimands him for losing his touch and sends him out with another project.

 

He has to work with an assigned Arts major to build up five bouquets for different occasions. Soonyoung is wishing with all of his heart he isn’t paired up with Jihoon but the student email on the slip of paper tells him otherwise.

 

__

 

_ 3 months ago. _

 

Jihoon finally finishes up his bulk of artwork for submission when he receives the announcement of the last project that takes up 30% of his final GPA. The younger has already heard news about it through Soonyoung and has been tossing in some suggestions for the five themes of bouquets. What he doesn’t know is that Soonyoung is his partner and when he reads the email in his palms, his face heats up so much that his seatmate, Seungkwan, thinks that he is unwell.

 

After convincing Seungkwan that he isn’t having a deadly fever, Jihoon spams Seungcheol with a string of ‘aAAaAAAAAA’s and ‘SOOOOOOONYOUNG’s that Seungcheol replies with a middle finger emoji. Jihoon breaks out into laughter in his hysteria, bumping into a back as he sent back even more emojis.

 

“Jihoonie! You’re in a good mood,” Soonyoung starts, hands ruffling Jihoon’s blonde hair. The shorter feels his ears heat up again so he darts away from Soonyoung’s piercing gaze to shove the slip of paper into his hands.

 

“You didn’t tell me I’m your partner,” Jihoon mockingly scolds Soonyoung, arms crossed and he juts out his lips to see the other’s reaction. What Jihoon didn’t expect is the taller affectionately squeezing his cheek and apologising meekly before swinging his arm over Jihoon’s smaller frame.

 

_ Flowers of first impressions. _

 

Yellow daffodils represent new beginnings.

 

Five-year-old Jihoon is extremely devastated to see another boy hoarding his box of crayons. He waddles over to the smaller boy, eyes fixated on the familiar crayons that his mother had gifted him as a present. Jihoon really loves drawing and his parents are more than thankful that their son is so gifted.

 

He taps the boy’s back, eyes already feigning confidence so that he could get back the box. The boy turns around, paper smeared with yellow and Jihoon squints his eyes in terror as he sees his favourite crayon broken in the shorter’s hands.

 

The boy giggles in delight, shoving the crayon into Jihoon’s palm and he walks off to another boy playing with a toy train. Tears prick Jihoon’s eyes as he tries to salvage the remnants of the red crayon before furiously tearing off the page that the boy drew on and restarting his drawing.

 

Jihoon gingerly returns the poor red crayon to its original position, retrieving the yellow one instead. He visualises the memorable flowers he saw at home the previous day and he keeps drawing until the teacher comes over to bring him to his waiting mother.

 

Hugging his items close to him, Jihoon also meets the boy and his mother who is engaging in conversation with his own mother. When everyone realises Jihoon is here, the boy runs over and almost knocks Jihoon over with a strangling hug.

 

“I-i’m sorry, Jihoonie!” The boy wails into arms and Jihoon feels his heart soften as he returns the hug, red crayon long forgotten as the boy’s mother pats her son’s head.

 

“Soonyoungie will get you a new box of crayons tomorrow as an apology,” the lady starts and the boy who Jihoon assumes is Soonyoung, nods his head repeatedly.

 

Since that incident, Soonyoung has been plastered by Jihoon’s side and has never stopped gawking over Jihoon’s artistic abilities and even picking up a few skills from Jihoon as well.

 

_ Flowers of encouragement. _

 

Sweet Alyssum is great as an instant pick-me-up.

 

Jihoon and Soonyoung both enrolled into the same high school, keeping in contact even after kindergarten and as they grew older. Jihoon’s complaints about Soonyoung being bigger than him never ceased and the taller teases him everyday.

 

Soonyoung somehow figures out the reason why his heart is palpitating so fast whenever Jihoon holds his hands or sleeps on his shoulder during their sleepovers. He relishes the feeling of liking his best friend, endlessly showering him with attention.

 

As he messes up and trusts people too much, Soonyoung finds himself encountering a group of seniors in the locker area. They are glaring at him with distaste, occasionally shouting curses at him when they kick him and punch him. The younger bites back his words in fear and gets beaten up, until Jihoon turns up.

 

“What’s wrong with him liking guys? Get the fuck away from Soonyoung or I’ll kill all of you,” Jihoon seethes, punching one of the nearest boys to him and Soonyoung lets out his tears that he was holding in for feeling so invalid. When the seniors finally scrurry away in fear, Jihoon envelops Soonyoung in a warm embrace, fingers continuously wiping away Soonyoung’s stray tears.

 

“Don’t cry, okay? It’s fine to like anyone of any gender, I’m so proud of you for being this brave, Soonyoung. I love you so much,” Jihoon consoles, meaning every single word that leaves his mouth.

 

After that incident, Soonyoung takes up lessons on bouquet-making from his mother and he immediately perks up when Jihoon pops by to gift him a bunch of sweet alyssums, the tips of Soonyoung’s ears warm in affection.

 

‘i’ll forever stay by your side. i’m your best friend for a reason. -jihoonie’

 

Soonyoung acts like Jihoon’s flowers aren’t the reason why he gets even more interested to learn about flowers, so that he could convey his feelings to Jihoon and to ensure that the stunning Jihoon is always surrounded with beauty.

 

__

 

_ Flowers of care. _

 

White dittany can simply show a special someone you care for them.

 

Jihoon feels the sobs wreck his body, the sniffles filling up the white noise in the room. Canvases are scattered everywhere on the ground, the paint on Jihoon’s skin dried and the boy lets more tears pour down his cheeks.

 

He ignores the irritating knocking on the door, sniffling as he picks up his blunt brush to begin another painting on a new canvas. The angry splashes of red and sorrowful blues greeted Jihoon’s eyes while his brush glides over the paper. Once he’s done, he sets the canvas aside and stares longingly at the portrait.

 

His mother passed away yesterday due to cancer and Jihoon still doesn’t believe that the world is so wicked to take away one of the very few people that he loves the most. Jihoon knows he’s famished and thirsty but he hasn’t left the studio since his mother’s death. He is going to complete fifty paintings and hang them up at her funeral.

 

Although Jihoon has already lost count of the multiple drying paintings on the ground, he stands up weakly to begin another work, harshly wiping away his tears and smearing his cheeks with paint.

 

“Jihoon?” Soonyoung can be heard through the door, the familiar voice making Jihoon stop halfway and he remains silent, waiting for any more signs of Soonyoung.

 

“Is it okay if I come in?” The other continues and Jihoon is thankful for Soonyoung’s ability to make him feel like everything is going to be alright. So, the shorter nods in reply instead of yelling back and he stares at Soonyoung who slowly unlocks the door and steps into the mess of an art studio.

 

Jihoon drops his brushes and palette on the ground, engulfing himself into Soonyoung’s arms and breaking down again, so appreciative of Soonyoung’s arms encircling him that he doesn’t notice Soonyoung slotting a single stalk of white dittany in his ear.

 

“S-soonyoung. Don’t ever leave me,” Jihoon murmurs into his chest, letting Soonyoung’s shirt get soaked with his tears.

 

“You idiot, I’ll never leave you. You’re Lee Jihoon!” Soonyoung confidently responses, fingers carding through Jihoon’s hair and Jihoon knows that Soonyoung has always been the one for him.

 

__   
  
_ Flowers of everlasting beauty. _

 

Gillyflower symbolises lasting beauty.

 

Like what Soonyoung promises, he sticks by Jihoon’s side effortlessly. He watches Jihoon gets his heart broken, cradling the smaller in his arms every single time with a romcom blaring in the background while Soonyoung busies himself with wiping Jihoon’s tears away. Feeding the younger another mouthful of rice, he fondly pats down Jihoon’s stray hair and runs his fingers through the strands. Hearing Jihoon sigh in content, Soonyoung smiles to himself.

 

“Hey, you know that the girl isn’t worth your time,” Soonyoung repeats for the nth time that night when Jihoon wails into his arms again after deleting all of their posts together. Bitter jealousy bites at his gut but Soonyoung knows that he’ll do anything to make Jihoon happy again. He sets the other up on dates after Jihoon had gotten over the girl. He watches Jihoon fall for one of his friends with a smile to conceal his true feelings.

 

When the three of them are out at a pizza parlour, a male slides beside Soonyoung and Mingyu greets him. “Soonyoung, this is Chan. Chan, Soonyoung,” Mingyu introduces the pair and Soonyoung awkwardly shakes the other’s hand. He tucks into his food silently, eyes glancing up to see Mingyu affectionately pressing a kiss on Jihoon’s forehead. Soonyoung wishes that he was Mingyu.

 

The dinner ends and Soonyoung gives Chan his number unwillingly but did it as soon as he sees Jihoon’s eyes on him. He notices how Jihoon’s eyes light up when Chan enters his number in Soonyoung’s phone.

 

“Get Chan! He’s totally your type,” Jihoon drawls, focus mostly on the drawing in front of him but Soonyoung knows the other will probably probe for more if he ignores the question. So, Soonyoung ignores him.

 

“Soonyoung!” Jihoon whines and turns up to stare at him, placing down his pencil on the table before walking towards him and Soonyoung tightens his grip on his phone, causing his character to die in the game but Jihoon is now less than an arm’s length away from him and Soonyoung is willing all his might to not kiss Jihoon square on the lips.

 

High school Jihoon had blonde hair which hung over his eyes and Soonyoung relishes over how the other pushes back his fringe before resuming to stare at him. “W-what?” Soonyoung stammers, trying to look back on his phone screen and blinking rapidly.

 

“Ah hah! You lost,” Jihoon sticks out his tongue in victory, playfully squeezing onto the bed beside Soonyoung and taking out his phone. Soonyoung sneaks a look at the screen before darting his eyes back to his own phone. The contact name ‘dumb tallie <33’ feels like a slap to his face but the affectionate smile on Jihoon’s face wins over his own jealousy.

 

Mingyu begs Soonyoung to be the chauffeur to send Jihoon to prom because he’s busy with the decorations since he’s the president of the planning committee. Soonyoung pretends to be bothered with driving Jihoon but he is more glad to do so. Seungcheol borrows him his old suit and styles his hair just to impress Jihoon, making Soonyoung stutter in surprise. The elder forces diamond studs into Soonyoung’s ear piercings despite his whining and coats Soonyoung’s face with a fair amount of makeup.

 

When Soonyoung drives up to Jihoon’s and his shared apartment, he takes a double take while staring at the shorter walking down the pavement. Jihoon had his hair styled up to reveal his forehead and red eyeshadow is dusted on his eyelids, accentuating how pretty he actually looks.

 

“Is this too much?” Jihoon asks worriedly, checking his appearance in the car mirror and Soonyoung notices the faint tell-tale sign of lip gloss on Jihoon’s lips. Shaking his head, Soonyoung hurriedly revs up the engine.

 

They meet Mingyu at the entrance of the school and Soonyoung envies how Jihoon links arms with the taller and enter the auditorium together. He hangs behind to revel in the gorgeous decor before choosing to hang by the punch bowl, eyes plastered on a certain pair.

 

At his fifth cup of punch, the couple came to Soonyoung’s side and Mingyu surprisingly offers Jihoon to Soonyoung for a dance. The eldest raises his brows in curiosity before offering Jihoon his hand and leading him to the centre of the hall.

 

“Can’t believe I’m dancing with the best dancer of the school,” the shorter gushes, eyes crinkling up in laughter and Soonyoung fondly returns a giggle. He likes this Jihoon who’s dancing right in his arms but he loves how the shorter just looks so beautiful.

 

__   
  


Soonyoung and Jihoon both finish up their portion of the project before trying to choose the last flower for their project. Jihoon hasn’t questioned Soonyoung for his odd selection of flowers so Soonyoung convinces Jihoon to take a break from his project since they’re still three weeks away from the deadline but they are already done with most of the project.

 

Jihoon dreads the day to Seungcheol’s Psychology project. The days are slowly decreasing and the shorter decides to hide in the library with the elder to avoid meeting Soonyoung for any other reasons.

 

“The project’s on Sunday, you ready?” Seungcheol nudges him from his book, an annoying smirk donning the elder’s face and Jihoon groans back in reply. Feeling his phone vibrate, Jihoon immediately sends back a series of replies to Soonyoung, ready to decline the dinner offer but Seungcheol snatches his phone from his hands. Blame the guy for his ultra-strength.

 

Jihoon’ eyes widen in surprise when he reads the text Seungcheol has just sent. “Go on for dinner, your prince is waiting for you!” The elder winks, slotting the phone back to Jihoon’s pocket and closing Jihoon’s book. Even before the younger can protest, Seungcheol shoves him out of the library.

 

“Jihoonie!” Soonyoung’s voice rings down the hallway and Jihoon braces himself to meet the other. He collides into Soonyoung’s chest and the other’s cologne is forced into his lungs and Jihoon feels a pair of arms wrap around his waist, reaching his arms to return the hug. Jihoon enjoys the warmth spreading throughout his body and is disappointed when Soonyoung releases them.

 

“It’s been ages since we went for dinner together. I missed you,” The elder pouts, tugging at Jihoon’s sleeve for them to leave the school compound to the barbeque place that they always eat at. While waiting to go into the restaurant, Jihoon chats with Soonyoung about his classes and hears Soonyoung chatter about his astronomy lectures, feeling at ease hearing the other’s voice.

 

The taller offers to grill the meat for the both of them and Jihoon agrees immediately, already tucking into his first bowl of rice while the meat slices are being cooked on the grill. After the meat have been cooked, Soonyoung picks it up with his chopsticks and brings them close to Jihoon’s lips.

 

“You have the honour of the first bite, Your Highness,” Soonyoung announces, a fond smile tugging on his lips and Jihoon rolls his eyes before biting on the warm slice of meat. It tastes sweet on his tongue and Jihoon savours the unknown taste on his lips that lingers even after he finishes.

 

—

 

“Come on Jihoonie! It’s nearing the end of university, you can’t graduate without going to one party!” Soonyoung whines in return to Jihoon’s groan. The taller is still digging through his closet for The Outfit but Jihoon thinks the other looks pretty no matter what. Breaking into a grin at the other’s words, Jihoon continues to silently tap on his phone.

 

Moments later,  Soonyoung’s donning tight jeans and a loose long-sleeved shirt which almost makes Jihoon choke on his words when he looks up from his game. The other has the faintest makeup dusted on his eyes and cheeks, accentuating his features and Jihoon just wants to sit down and stare at Soonyoung’s face all night long.

 

Before Jihoon realises it, he’s being dragged off the bed and forced into a pair of ripped jeans and Soonyoung’s fingers are running through Jihoon’s black strands to neaten the bangs.

 

“You shouldn’t have dyed your hair so much in the past, it’s so damaged,” The taller chides him, patting down his hair.

 

“You act like it wasn’t you who convinced me to do it,” Jihoon pouts in reply and hoping the blush on his cheeks isn’t noticeable. Soonyoung pulls him out of the room cheerfully so Jihoon guesses the other is oblivious.

 

When the pair arrived at Joshua’s house, the host being quite chummy with Seungcheol, hence Jihoon recalls meeting the other sometimes. They are being shoved in with the wave of students and a guy forces two cups into Jihoon’s hands. The shorter offers it to Soonyoung and stares into the weirdly coloured punch. It’s purple but it smells oddly like oranges. He brings it up to Soonyoung who giggles before taking a timid sip of it.

 

“Tastes like unicorn,” he mutters. Jihoon cocks his brow in confusion before trying out the drink too. Soonyoung’s right, it strangely tastes like rainbows… and unicorns. The drink starts to become familiar on his tongue so Jihoon goes to get refills with Soonyoung trailing behind him, the other already with red-stained cheeks.

 

While Jihoon fills up his cup, he notices the other isn’t tagging behind him anymore and he hurriedly looks around for any signs of Soonyoung. He hears loud hollering from the living room so Jihoon follows the noise to meet with Soonyoung chugging down cup after cup, his juniors Seokmin and Seungkwan endlessly pouring more drink into the cups.

 

Jihoon downs his own drink, already wincing for the effect of drunk Soonyoung. Seokmin and Seungkwan are known for being a boisterous pair at every party and everyone seems to enjoy their planned games. By the time Jihoon manages to squeeze himself to the first row, Soonyoung’s already dazed and laughing to himself. 

 

“Soonie! Let’s go,” Jihoon calls out, rushing over to Soonyoung’s side to help him stand upright. He feels the sudden warmth from Soonyoung’s body and how the other just smells like the beer from earlier.

 

The buzzing in Jihoon’s ears die down immediately when the other yells to the crowd,”Everyone! This is my boyfriend!~” The crowd begins to hoot in response and Soonyoung breaks off his contact from the struggling Jihoon to hold his cheeks tightly. Jihoon ignores the annoying beating of his chest when he sees how close Soonyoung’s dumb face is close to his. 

 

As Soonyoung’s face nears his along with the cheers, Jihoon shuts his eyes to anticipate for the pair of lips on his but after a few moments, the screams soften and Jihoon opens his eyes to be greeted by Soonyoung vomiting on the ground, missing Jihoon’s feet by a few centimetres.

 

Jihoon jumps backward in shock, before pulling his poor best friend? crush? up from the ground, side-stepping the vomit to drag Soonyoung out of the house. He hurls the heavy body to the grass outside, chasing the outside party-goers into the house before plopping down beside the other.

 

“You okay to walk now?” Jihoon asks, not expecting a reply but he hears a few groans from the other. Soonyoung’s shaking his head furiously, his makeup already smudged but Jihoon still thinks Soonyoung is beautiful.

 

“Let’s go,” Jihoon murmurs after a few moments of dead silence. He pulls the other’s arm over his shoulder and Jihoon musters all his strength to drag Soonyoung’s body up from the ground. He wishes he attended weightlifting training with Seungcheol in the past.

 

When they finally reached home, Jihoon gingerly guides Soonyoung into the bathtub. He turns on the tap and watches the water flow and seep into Soonyoung’s vomit-stained clothes. The older mumbles out incoherently before running his fingers through his pink hair. As soon as the vomit has been washed off, Jihoon peels the clothes off Soonyoung.

 

Jihoon feels the warmth on his cheeks when he fetches Soonyoung’s fresh clothes for him to wear when Soonyoung motions Jihoon to join him in the tub. The shorter hesitates for a moment before deciding to just stand beside the tub to gaze at Soonyoung before the taller unknowingly puts his lips softly on Jihoon’s forehead, then nose. The acrid stench of vomit has disappeared and Jihoon is left with a tingling feeling in his chest.

 

He basks in the moment awhile longer before forcing Soonyoung out of the water and putting him into clean clothes. When a singlet is comfortably resting on Soonyoung’s body, Jihoon wraps his arms around the taller’s waist affectionately, breathing in the shampoo from Soonyoung and he appreciates the warmth radiating from the other.

 

—

 

Soonyoung wakes up to a splitting headache, letting out a pained groan before shifting his body to realise another body is sleeping soundly beside him.

 

“Jihoonie? How much did I drink last night?” Soonyoung’s voice comes out raspy and the younger stirs awake to stare mindlessly at Soonyoung before shaking his head.

 

“Enough to puke?” His reply causes Soonyoung to wince, hoping that he didn’t vomit on Jihoon’s shoes, he really loves the pair of Vans. When Jihoon mentions that Soonyoung’s vomit barely missed his feet, Soonyoung is glad that drunk Soonyoung still sets his priorities right. Jihoon over anything else in the world.

 

“I’ll go get painkillers for you,” Jihoon pipes up immediately when Soonyoung groans again. When the younger leaves, Soonyoung notices how his clothes from last night and strewn at the corner of the room. He visibly panics, eyes scanning the room for any other signs of him doing regrettable things towards Jihoon.

 

“I changed your clothes so you wouldn’t be walking vomit,” Jihoon answers his thoughts as soon as he enters the room with a pill and a cup of water. Soonyoung gratefully swallows the pill and is thankful he and Jihoon has best friend telepathy, so he doesn’t have to voice out his thoughts but Jihoon can never get his feelings.

 

Jihoon’s phone buzzes and the shorter feels the bed for his phone, reading the screen. “You feeling better? I have to go meet Seungcheol about his project. Guess I’ll see you later?” Jihoon pulls on his sweater and slots on his shoes, giving Soonyoung a short wave before jogging out of the house.

 

Soonyoung meets with sudden quietness so he pulls himself off his bed and busies himself in clearing the room and tidying himself up.

 

He throws the vomit-stained clothes in the laundry basket, disgusted by the stench and is enamoured at how Jihoon tolerated the smell last night. In his faint memory, Soonyoung can recall him almost kissing Jihoon but the rest seems like a blur of events. Soonyoung messes up his hair in frustration before receiving a text from Seungcheol telling him to meet at the Sciences block.

 

Greeting a few familiar faces on his way there, Soonyoung bumps into Seokmin, who he’s quite close with since they share the same tutor.

 

“How’s you and your boyfriend doing?” Seokmin laughs, swinging his arm around Soonyoung’s shoulders as they both walk towards the Sciences block.

 

“B-boyfriend?” Soonyoung stammers, scratching his nape in confusion and a tinge of fear bubbling in his heart.

 

“Yeah! Seungkwan said he’s Jihoon. Didn’t know you got yourself such an adorable guy!” Seokmin winks, nudging Soonyoung before they meet Seungkwan and Seokmin separates to go gossip with the other.

 

Soonyoung… called Jihoon his boyfriend when he was shitfaced drunk last night. He groans into the empty space and attracts the attention of some students before he dials Seungcheol’s number.

 

“Cheol hyung!” Soonyoung yells into the mouth piece.

 

“Sorry Soonie, Cheol went to get something, you reaching soon?” Jihoon’s voice is heard from the speaker and Soonyoung almost hangs up, his cheeks burning at the sheer thought of Jihoon being his boyfriend. He imagines all the hand-holding and stolen kisses in between lectures, sighing in exasperation.

 

“Huh?” Jihoon’s confused voice came again and Soonyoung hurriedly informs him he’s nearing the block, forgetting to reply the other as he is busy daydreaming about him.

 

Soonyoung sees Jihoon’s figure at the entrance of the block and he quickens his pace to meet with the other. His black hair is styled up just like when they attended prom back in high school. Jihoon’s just missing the suit but he has the same glowing presence as last time. 

 

The elder smiles at the sight of him and Soonyoung wishes he put in more effort to dressing up today if he had known Jihoon is going to be this stunning. Not like Jihoon has to try but Soonyoung loves the aura he emits when he nears Jihoon.

 

“Seungcheol’s waiting for you,” Jihoon breaks into a toothy grin as well, revealing his canine teeth.

 

Soonyoung meets Seungcheol in a room who’s suspiciously holding a can of hair spray. “Didn’t know you’re a hairdresser now,” Soonyoung teases, settling himself into a chair and lazily playing with his fingers.

 

“Knew you liked Jihoon’s prom hair,” Seungcheol winks, before placing down the hair spray and taking the makeup brush. Soonyoung feels the blush lightly dusted on his cheeks and he wriggles his nose when some powder gets in.

 

“Oh no, don’t you dare sneeze me just like back in high school. I don’t appreciate that,” Seungcheol backs off hurriedly, a look of horror plastered on his face, which makes Soonyoung crack into amused laughter.

 

When Soonyoung finally sneezes, Seungcheol begins to apply the eyeshadow. “So, I’m supposed to research on human interaction and how people react to different speeches. Jihoon will be wearing a headset while I ask different questions and you just react accordingly,” Seungcheol informs Soonyoung as the brush gently dabs on his eyelids.

 

“Then why do we have to look pretty?” Soonyoung questions. Seungcheol weirdly doesn’t answer but Soonyoung forgets about it and resumes to thinking about what should be the last flower in his shared project.

 

When Seungcheol finishes, he smiles proudly at Soonyoung, patting the other’s shoulder. “Just be you, you’re fantastic at that.”

 

Soonyoung nervously plays with his hair to straighten his strands again before waiting outside a room as Seungcheol enters. A few hushed whispers can be heard before Seungcheol jokingly bows.

 

“May I invite you in, Your Highness.” Soonyoung shoves the elder jokingly before entering the room. Seungcheol’s research work are plastered over the walls and there’s a camera positioned to record the entire project. The room’s strangely homely as Soonyoung meets his eyes with Jihoon.

 

The shorter is wearing headphones and is humming along to the tune, drumming his fingers against his thigh. Soonyoung greets him with a warm chuckle and Jihoon returns the same. He hears Seungcheol close the door behind him and invites Soonyoung to sit on the chair across Jihoon.

 

“He can’t hear us. So I’ll begin?” The elder arranges the papers on his table and clears his throat.

 

“How did you meet Jihoon?” Seungcheol begins, a smile already tugging on his lips and Soonyoung raises his brow in suspicion. The other just shrugs in defense, mouthing that he’s researching on HUMAN INTERACTION! So, Soonyoung gives up and ponders.

 

“I just moved to Seoul when I was like..5? It was my first day in kindergarten and being the freaky kid I am, I went to play with a bunch of crayons left on a table. Afterwards, this really tiny and grumpy kid stomped over and looked at the crayon in my hand which I broke? I still can’t believe that idiot blamed me for breaking his crayon but I bought him a new set any way and we became really close,” Soonyoung answers, fondly staring at Jihoon.

 

Nodding, Seungcheol suddenly puts on a pair of headphones onto Soonyoung’s ears and remove Jihoon’s. Shocked, Jihoon blinks for a few moments before uncomfortably shifting in his seat. Seungcheol repeats the question he asked Soonyoung to Jihoon but Jihoon doesn’t know that.

 

“U-uh, probably when he broke my red crayon in kindergarten? I hated him for that, I was going to finish a drawing that needed red but he destroyed it and I just got really pissed,” Jihoon shyly answers, apologetically thinking about how when they both were kids and so, so naive.

 

_ Five-year-old Jihoon is extremely devastated to see another boy hoarding his box of crayons. He waddles over to the smaller boy, eyes fixated on the familiar crayons that his mother had gifted him as a present.  _

 

Seungcheol notes down something, before looking up. “Describe Soonyoung.”

 

“He’s like… the universe. When he told me he’s studying astronomy for his major, I can’t believe he’s studying about himself… cringy I know,” Jihoon pauses to chuckle, consciously touching his hair.

 

“He’s been there for my worst and my best, so I’m extremely thankful for that. Despite me being such a loser, he has always been there for me. When the world felt like it was caving in, Soonyoung was there to help me lift it back up. Somehow, he’s become so intertwined with my existence I feel like he’s my universe. The stars, the moon and everything else.”

 

_ Jihoon drops his brushes and palette on the ground, engulfing himself into Soonyoung’s arms and breaking down again, so appreciative of Soonyoung’s arms encircling him that he doesn’t notice Soonyoung slotting a single stalk of white dittany in his ear. _

 

_ “S-soonyoung. Don’t ever leave me,” Jihoon murmurs into his chest, letting Soonyoung’s shirt get soaked with his tears. _

 

When they switch again, Seungcheol repeats the same question to Soonyoung. The elder watches Jihoon adjust the headphones before the younger looks up to meet his gaze.

 

“Jihoon’s wonderful. I’m glad to love him from afar since I’m content if he’s happy. He’s like a half of me that I can’t live without. Being my best friend and suddenly the next moment, I feel like he’s so much more than a friend. It’s okay to see him fall in love with others because I’m fine with just watching and… waiting,” Soonyoung mutters, trailing off sadly.

 

Seungcheol shares a comforting nod, jotting down more notes. “What’s love to you?” 

 

“Love… it’s like a million of flowers in one bouquet. They contrast but they fit so well together. Like a key to a lock. You wouldn’t expect sunflowers and roses to match because of its colours but they do, somehow. You can be still so in tune with your loved one despite your differences, that’s what love means to me.”

 

Soonyoung silently puts on the headphones voluntarily and watches Jihoon endearingly still get tangled with the wires while wrangling the object off his head.

 

“So Jihoon, what does love mean to you?” Seungcheol taps his fingers against the table surface, his obvious jitters shown.

 

Jihoon juts out his lip in thought. “Love feels like home, where you can feel all of your emotions. You’re at ease in expressing yourself. I finish my paintings the fastest at home… Probably because there’s where love is at.” 

 

Finishing his sentence, the younger asks Seungcheol,”Phase Two?” the elder gave Jihoon an eager thumbs-up, as the shorter stood up from his seat and meets Soonyoung eye-to-eye.

 

The other tilts his head curiously and Jihoon hears the faint sound of music blaring into Soonyoung’s ears. The shorter urges Seungcheol to ask the final question as he pulls down Soonyoung’s headphones.

 

“Hey Jihoon, do you love Soonyoung?” Seungcheol asks. He just shoots a blinding smile as Soonyoung’s panicked eyes glanced towards the elder’s. As soon as he hears the question, Jihoon pushes the headphones back to his ears.

 

“Yeah, I do.” 

 

Soonyoung feels a flurry of feelings in his chest, his eyes reading the other’s lips as the words left his mouth. His heart feels at ease and Soonyoung feels like he can take over the world.

 

Beaming, Soonyoung pushes down the headphones to gently press his lips against Jihoon’s. It feels soft and Soonyoung can taste the tell-tale taste of Jihoon’s vanilla chapstick. He watches the shorter’s eyelashes flutter close and they share a moment together before breaking off.

 

Seeing Jihoon smile is great but having Jihoon smile because of him is a whole new feeling… and Soonyoung revels in it.

 

When Seungcheol stands up and applauds, the pair shift away from each other and Soonyoung chuckles softly to himself.

 

“Thanks Cheol,” Jihoon snaps his fingers at the elder. Seungcheol returns with finger guns and Soonyoung bursts into laughter.

 

—

 

Finals stress starts to pour in when Jihoon piles himself up with studying for the examinations. Checking the time on his phone, Jihoon holds back a yawn as the clock strikes 3am. He continues to look through his notes, using a highlighter to pick out the important points.

 

Soonyoung and him… There’s been a really weird gap between the both of them after their encounter, Soonyoung excusing himself to hide in the library to catch up on his lectures. However, Jihoon feels that the other is ignoring him for some odd reasons. Even when they meet in the hallways, the taller immediately runs off or makes conversation with a passing student so that Jihoon doesn’t get to talk to him.

 

Sighing, Jihoon doodles Soonyoung’s name mindlessly on his book before retrieving his phone again.

 

jihoon: Don’t know whether you’re still up but good luck for your finals tomorrow :)

jihoon: Love you

 

After his paper ended for the day, Jihoon bumps into a flustered Seungcheol. The elder is ruffling through his bag for something when he literally collides into Jihoon.

 

“Hey Cheol!” The younger smiles, picking up the dropped books and passing them to Seungcheol. The elder’s eyebags are dark and he yawns loudly before thanking Jihoon.

 

“O-oh, did Soonyoung say anything to you?” Jihoon pipes up as Seungcheol continues to look through his bag for something. He fishes out his apartment card, successfully pumping his fist in the air. Afterwards, Seungcheol tilts his head in confusion.

 

“He has been hanging out with Seokmin and Seungkwan recently. Did something happen between the both of you?” Seungcheol probes, as the pair walks towards the university apartments.

 

Hopelessly shrugging, Jihoon collapses into the sofa once Seungcheol unlocks his apartment. Taking out his notes to read through for his paper tomorrow, he ignores the weight beside him when the elder plops down on the sofa as well.

 

“Soonyoung just went missing after the day I confessed. Do you think he doesn’t like me that way?” Jihoon huffs, throwing his book in Seungcheol’s direction and the elder catches the object effortlessly.

 

“I’m pretty sure he likes you though. Since I met him in high school, he was already head over heels for you,” Seungcheol replies while changing through the channels.

 

“You should go talk to him,” The elder continues after he finds a channel currently broadcasting a soccer match. He gasps when a team scores, eyes twinkling in delight.

 

Jihoon silently agrees with him, standing up and stuffing his notes back into his bag. Not even bading the elder a goodbye, he runs back to his shared house.

 

Ruffling through the unpacked boxes, he finds a stashed photobook at the bottom of the cardboard box and he furiously flips through it. Jihoon discovers a note stuck on one of the pages, where high school students Jihoon and Soonyoung took a photograph together during prom. The photographer being Jihoon’s ex, Mingyu.

 

Mingyu and Jihoon both ended on good terms after graduation because the both of them agreed that they have fallen out of love with each other. Mingyu is going to study overseas for his university degree and Jihoon can’t be any more proud of the other.

 

The shorter peels off the letter from the sticky plastic, wincing when the paper tears off slightly. Taking out the letter, Jihoon attempts to read Soonyoung’s scrawly handwriting.

 

‘hey jihoonie! we’re finally out of high school and we’re going to the same school together~. hope mingyu and you are going to last long together, you look really happy with him and i’m proud of you <3\. can’t wait to start living together on the campus too, i’m really excited for that even though we don’t have classes together >:(. remember i always love you, idiot! come to me for anything~ happy graduation again!

  * soonie <3’



 

Jihoon pulls out his forgotten painting from his closet, the paint already dried but he thinks he can salvage the artwork. He ties on his apron and brings out the easel into the room.

 

The shorter finally finishes the painting, a earnest smile on his face. Painting Soonyoung is stunning, with his renowned cheeks and cheeky, toothy grin. Jihoon watches the paint dry gradually as he studies for his paper tomorrow, excited to show the painting to Soonyoung.

 

—

 

Soonyoung curls up in the covers, his heart heavy in his chest. Hearing the faint chortling from Seokmin and Seungkwan downstairs, he continues to stare blankly at the peeling paint on the ceiling. He has been avoiding Jihoon like he’s the plague but Soonyoung feels pain prick his heart whenever he sees Jihoon’s face fall as they walk past each other in the hallway.

 

He thinks that Jihoon is such a perfect person, a boy with a beautiful grin and even nicer laughter. Jihoon is so wonderfully talented and Soonyoung realises that he can never match up to how ethereal Jihoon is. Soonyoung wonders if he’s pulling Jihoon down if they ever got together.

 

Finals have officially ended and Soonyoung has been crashing at Seokmin’s and Seungkwan’s shared abode for ages. The younger two pair are preparing for their celebration party that is taking place tonight, already emptying beer cans into the drinks dispenser. Soonyoung gets off from bed to help them set up their pingpong table and sound system, ignoring the younger two’s bickering of choice of music. Seungkwan is still demanding for Mariah Carey to be played when the bell rings.

 

Soonyoung jogs over to the door, flashing a wide smile and loud greeting while opening the door. He stops mid-hello, meeting Mingyu right in front of his eyes.The sun had done the younger so well, allowing Mingyu to have a healthy glow on his skin. He has grown a few inches since high school as well, which Soonyoung takes note of when he tilts his head slightly to meet with the younger’s gaze. When he finishes taking in the godsent looks of Mingyu only, he realises a male standing beside him.

 

He awkwardly nods in his direction and the tall boy returns the same action. Mingyu laughs at the interaction before introducing the lanky male. He’s Jeon Wonwoo and he studies in the same course as Mingyu. Soonyoung nods, taking in the information while asking the younger why he is outside Seokmin and Seungkwan’s humble abode during the afternoon.

 

“We’re here for the party. Seokmin is actually Wonwoo’s childhood friend and we thought we’ll attend since we’re in town. What are you doing here in their house?” Mingyu runs his fingers through his brown locks, fingers untangling the tousled strands. Soonyoung visibly panics at the question, choosing to shrug it off by ushering the two guests into the house. The squabble about Mariah Carey has died down and Seokmin is now seen struggling to hang the mistletoe on the archway without any help.

 

Wonwoo runs over to help the poor younger and this leaves Mingyu and Soonyoung standing silently beside each other, the faint tune of ‘Jingle Bells’ played by the stereo in the background. Soonyoung mindlessly taps on his quiet phone until Mingyu clears his throat. “So how’s you and Ji?” He pauses at the question, finger hovering over a post on Instagram.

 

“We’re fine, still friends,” Soonyoung replies casually, scrutinising a bad pun and halting when he feels Mingyu’s stare still on him. The younger is obviously deep in thought when Seungkwan bursts into the room, arms filled with party food. He piles them up in Soonyoung’s arms, blabbering about arranging them on the table before sauntering off with a phone clasped to his ear.

 

Mingyu catches some of the falling chip bags, stashing them at the table. “Anything up between you and Wonwoo?” Soonyoung finally retorts back, groaning when a bag falls on the floor.

 

“We’re dating,” the taller answers matter-of-factly and Soonyoung nearly drops the bag he has retrieved back on the ground. Stiffly laughing, the elder tidies up the remaining packs of food before settling onto the sofa with his old friend. They start to talk about university and everything that comes along with it. Soon, Jihoon is brought back again into the topic as Wonwoo snuggles into Mingyu’s arms on the same couch as well. Soonyoung gags on purpose and the younger rolls his eyes, arms tightly wrapped around Wonwoo’s waist.

 

“I kinda like Jihoon,” the eldest whispers, expecting Mingyu to have a full-blown over-reaction but he just nods expectantly.

 

“I’ve been avoiding him because I don’t think I’m enough for him. You know, he’s such a studious guy while I’m here trying to juggle my mess of majors,” he lets out a sigh he didn’t know he is holding, nervously fumbling with the ring on his finger. Jihoon gave him that ring as a declaration of everlasting friendship for Soonyoung’s sixteenth birthday and he has always treasured it up till now.

 

“Soonyoung, you’re a splendid person. Jihoon is, too. So, I feel like you should at least give it a shot instead of giving up a chance that you have waited for the most of your life, you know?” Mingyu offers, patting the eldest’s back in comfort when he sees Soonyoung’s forlorn expression. After hearing his words, Soonyoung feels like a heavy weight has been lifted off his chest and he smiles gratefully at his friend.

 

__

 

People begin to start pouring into the house and Seungkwan eagerly turns up the music to an ear-aching volume, the obnoxious tunes of Christmas music being heard at every corner of the house. Cups of rum and coke are being passed around and some are already even drunk, howling along to the lyrics of the music.

 

Soonyoung leans against the wall with a cup of punch in his hand, sending Seungcheol a bunch of annoying texts when someone steps in front of him and clears his throat. The male looks up to meet his eyes with Jihoon and he is glad he is holding onto his cup tightly or else it would have fallen and drenched the other’s favourite pair of shoes.

 

The smaller looks the same, with his usual radiating aura. He contemplates to run away from Jihoon’s gaze when Seungkwan appears behind him and rowdily hi-fives Jihoon. As the youngest walks away to greet another guest, Soonyoung takes in how Jihoon has actually put in effort in dressing up for the party. He’s donning a pair of leather jeans with a plain tee. Soonyoung is amazed at how wonderful Jihoon looks under the party lights, a friendly glow on his face.

 

“H-hey, Mingyu came back,” Soonyoung attempts to start a conversation when he realises he isn’t able to run away from Jihoon, side-glancing all the locked doors in the hallway and internally cursing. He watches Jihoon tilt his head slightly, cocking a brow up in confusion. Speaking of the devil, the taller appears from the toilet, face fresh with water and he lights up in recognition when he sees Jihoon and Soonyoung.

 

He buries the tiny male in a warm hug, exchanging a few pleasantries before jogging off towards the crowd. Jihoon then turns back to stare at the taller once again, his adorable eyes threatening to break Soonyoung’s many walls of defense. The elder gulps slowly when the shorter strangely inches closer until he can hear Jihoon’s breath.

 

“We’re under the mistletoe,” Jihoon comments, eyes darting up towards the direction of the cursed item and Soonyoung feels that his heart is going to be torn out of his ribcage. Before he becomes too flustered to move, Jihoon grabs his cheeks and tiptoes to meet his lips.

 

Soonyoung relishes in the same taste of Jihoon’s chapstick and the bubbling emotions within him, his heart hammering against his chest when they break apart for air. He feels his own cheeks heat up, pink dusted on them when he meets Jihoon’s eyes again. A hoot from the kitchen causes Soonyoung to glare at Seungkwan who is clapping his hands wildly at the pair.

 

Jihoon smiles reassuringly at Soonyoung when he passes him a package. “Early Christmas present,” the smaller says before grabbing Soonyoung’s hand and guiding them to Soonyoung’s room where they’re both alone.

 

Soonyoung feels pressured under Jihoon’s fixed gaze as he slowly tears off the wrapping. He’s revealed with so much splashes of colour and Soonyoung’s eyes take in the breathtaking artwork in his hands. His own features are smiling back at him as if he is looking into a mirror and Soonyoung grins at the sight of it due to the euphoria of receiving such a gift and the giddiness from their previous kiss.

 

The elder breaks his sight away from the painting to look at Jihoon, appreciation and love laced in his eyes when he sees the younger donning a bright grin. Soonyoung lets his fingers trace his monolids, still taking in the world he’s holding in his hands. He unknowingly sets it on the ground and engulfs Jihoon in a warm embrace. The younger’s shampoo smells like his own and Soonyoung feels Jihoon’s heartbeat against his. 

 

As he releases Jihoon from his grip, he holds onto Jihoon’s shoulders, eyes burning holes into Jihoon’s features, taking note of every single detail on his face. Soonyoung has always loved the mole at the corner of Jihoon’s eye as he gingerly pecks it.

 

“I thought that I won’t be enough for someone wonderful like you,” the male confesses, fingers running through Jihoon’s hair, fondly patting his head afterwards and receiving a growl in return.

 

“What makes you think that?”

 

“You’re the perfect, artistic kid while I’m just a… kid. You can be out there winning tons of awards for your art but you’re stuck here with me,” when Soonyoung finishes his sentence, he feels warm tears roll down his cheeks and he sniffles, using his palm to rub away the tears harshly. He has been struggling with this thought ever since he started liking Jihoon and whenever he sees Jihoon with someone, he knows how much he can never ever match to any of Jihoon’s partners.

 

A pair of hands instinctively caressed Soonyoung’s cheeks as the warmth spread through his body when he opens his swollen eyes to watch Jihoon’s kind smile directed at him. “Soonyoung, you don’t have to match up to what you think is perfect for me. I think you being yourself is more than enough.”

 

__

 

_ Flowers of pure love. _

White carnations symbolises genuine adoration.

 

Soonyoung enters their shared room, arms filled with a bunch of flowers, gently placing them on his own bed before plopping down on Jihoon’s bed. Jihoon darts up his attention from his work to stare at the beautiful mess of flowers before leaping onto his own bed and landing on Soonyoung.

 

The elder gaps in surprise, trying to push Jihoon off but he clings onto Soonyoung tightly, cheeks flushed from the proximity as the both of them finally rolled to a point where Jihoon and Soonyoung are staring intently at each other. Soonyoung’s hair is ruffled and Jihoon pats it down slightly, ignoring the skip in his heartbeat when Soonyoung giggles.

 

Both of them lie in bed for ages just staring at each other, Jihoon’s leg wrapping around Soonyoung’s waist and his arms awkwardly playing with his own duvet until Soonyoung intertwines their fingers together. The other chuckles when Jihoon’s cheeks heat up and Jihoon shoves the other playfully, pouting in response.

 

What he doesn’t expect is the other cheekily planting a chaste kiss on his lips. Their noses bump and Jihoon bites back the even stronger upcoming blush. When he recovers from the hysteria, Jihoon leans forward and shyly pecks Soonyoung’s nose. The other taps Jihoon’s nose lightly before burying him into his chest. He takes in the homely scent of Kwon Soonyoung in his nose, snuggling further into his chest.

 

Someone suddenly barges into the room and Jihoon immediately untangles himself from Soonyoung, stumbling off the bed to bump into Seungcheol. The elder is gripping onto his purple worksheet from months before, the green text still hurting Jihoon’s eyes. He notices how Seungcheol’s gaze dart from his tousled hair to Soonyoung lying in the covers and trying to be casual while tapping a blank screen on his phone.

 

“Thanks for helping me out for the project. My GPA is 3.96, losers!” He hollers after a few beat of stagnant silence. Jihoon breaks out into a proud smile and he watches Soonyoung’s cheeks bunch up in happiness as well. Seungcheol hops around the room with the tell-tale A scribbled on his worksheet and when he’s finally done celebrating, his phone rings. He blabbers into the receiver and exchanges a few words before stopping to stare at Jihoon and Soonyoung.

 

“Seungkwan asks if you want to join us for lunch,” Seungcheol cocks his brows when the call ends and Jihoon looks at Soonyoung instinctively for his opinion. The elder agrees by nodding and rolls off the bed to land on Jihoon. Jihoon hearty laughter fills up the room when Soonyoung leans down to tickle him. When they both end up gasping for air and Soonyoung steals a kiss on Jihoon’s lips, they realise that Seungcheol has already left the room. 

 

They find him at the living room flipping through the channels and the eldest hurriedly shields his eyes from them as soon as he notices Jihoon and Soonyoung are watching him. “Are you doing anything I don’t want to see?” Seungcheol probes in mock fear, eyes still covered by his palms and this makes Jihoon flush.

 

The boys pile into a booth at McDonalds’, Seungkwan offering to treat all of them because he got a cute boy’s number today. Jihoon devours the chicken burger hungrily as Seungkwan swoons over another guy at the counter. Seungcheol throws a fry at Seokmin and he earns a fry with ketchup in his direction. The two hurl more fries at each other, stopping as soon as the fry Seokmin aims nearly hits Seungcheol’s white shirt.

 

Soonyoung’s cheeks are filled with burger and fries when Jihoon finishes his meal quickly, folding the wrapper and placing it on the tray. The way the other endearingly chews on his food in his cheeks makes Jihoon swoon and when the other three went off to get more fries, Jihoon resumes watching Soonyoung eat. When he’s done and the others are still gone, the younger tugs the elder out of the restaurant and they started walking aimlessly around the neighbourhood.

 

They somehow end up at a beach near their home and Soonyoung settles himself onto the soft sand and guides Jihoon to sit in between his outstretched legs. As they both sit in comfortable silence, Soonyoung plays with Jihoon’s hair, finger curling around a strand and releasing it. Jihoon folds himself up to take as little space as possible. However, Soonyoung scoots nearer to Jihoon and guides the younger to lean on him.

 

“I liked you since high school started,” Soonyoung unexpectedly blurts out, the tides of the waves slowly moving outwards as the sun starts to set, colouring the skies orange.

 

Jihoon lets out an incredulous gasp, “You held back from telling me for so long?” Soonyoung chuckled softly, allowing Jihoon to turn around so that the both of them are finally looking at each other. He admires the flecks of the sun in Jihoon’s eyes as the same pair of eyes looks back at his own.

 

“You… were satisfied with your past partners. I could never force myself on you,” the elder answers honestly, leaning inwards so that their foreheads met. In the midst of this, drops of rain started to land on the areas of sand they are on and Soonyoung bites back a giggle, their eyes still fixated on each other.

 

Jihoon rolls his eyes at the other before pulling Soonyoung forward for their lips to collide. Somehow this moment feels different from the other kisses they’ve shared, it feels like Jihoon is going to swallowed whole with all the emotions he’s feeling. Despite the rain, Soonyoung uses his palm in an attempt to shield Jihoon from it and the smaller laughs into the kiss. They break apart to breathe until Soonyoung gently tugs Jihoon in again and he tastes Soonyoung on his tongue, the beautiful taste of a boy who loves flowers, the stars and the boy who is his definition of home.

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hmu [@twitter!](https://twitter.com/chuukwan)


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